Supervised Practice or
Pre-Registration Courses for Overseas Nurses in Australia

To ensure the protection of the public the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia may require some overseas nurses to complete a period of supervised practice or a course of study. These courses are accredited by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC), and ensure that all nurses working in Australia are able to meet the National Competency Standards. There are standards for the registered nurse, enrolled nurse and midwife.

What is Supervised Practice?

A Supervised Practice program is a course that health care facilities, or aged care facilities, conduct to assist overseas nurses comply with the requirements set out by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, to gain registration. This course is usually 6-12 weeks in length and nurses in the program must be under the supervision of a Registered Nurse at all times. A formal clinical assessment of competency using the National Competency Standards will be undertaken at the completion of the program.

The facility may charge for this course, some states and territories may have subsidies or scholarships, see the Nursing websites in each state for more information. These are listed on the Registration page

A list of accredited facilities can be found on the AHPRA website

Pre-Registration Courses for Overseas Nurses

You may be required to undertake a formal pre-registration course at an educational institution such as a TAFE or University. This course is usually 6 weeks of classroom teaching followed by 6 weeks of supervised clinical practice in a health care facility or aged care facility.

A formal clinical assessment using the National Competency Standards will be undertaken as well as formal written assessment tasks, such as assignments or essays, at the end of the course.

The educational facilities will charge a course fee for this course, individual educational facilities will be able to provide information on this.

A list of accredited courses can be found on the AHPRA website.

IMPORTANT!

If you have been informed by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia that you must complete one of these requirements it is important to understand that you cannot work as a nurse until you complete this course. This means until your course coordinator has submitted your course completion certificate and assessment, and you receive a letter advising you that you are now registered or enrolled - YOU MUST NOT WORK AS A NURSE! The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia will send you a letter to advise you of this once your registration application is complete. There are penalties for undertaking work as a nurse without the correct registration, see the AHPRA website for more details.

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